#numbercollectionsmustfall : PLEASE, PLEASE!!!

[Spinnekop]

So we are doing the whole pickled to the South trip again this week?  Two hours off work.

 

Wonder if the organisers will look at it this way.

Two hours off work = R4000 leave GONE.  Imagine what I can spend with R4000 at my LBS?

 

OK....maybe not me but some guys I know...... 

[Cyclewizz]

And that's 2 hours in the dry should it rain, you'll be in traffic a lot longer

[Frosty]

Toe maar Spinnekop - for the Carnival City Macsteel National Classic the ladies will be in Centurion - hopefully this helps you for one (south) race in the year...

[Spinnekop]

So.....race numbers for SA's....ANYONE?

The web page says at the Casino. 

 

So we have to drive to the casino, past the start.......pick up numbers......drive all the way back again and go start.

 

mmmmm...............

 

I think organisers have a stake in the fuel companies......starting to seriously wonder why I even bother to race?!?!?!??!

 

gggmmmmfffff

 

 

[Flemish Lion]

So.....race numbers for SA's....ANYONE?

 

The web page says at the Casino.?

 

?

 

So we have to drive to the casino' date=' past the start.......pick up numbers......drive all the way back again and go start.

 

?

 

mmmmm...............

 

?

 

I think organisers have a stake in the fuel companies......starting to seriously wonder why I even bother to race?!?!?!??!

 

?

 

gggmmmmfffff

 

?

 

?

[/quote']

 

 

 

We're all in the same boat

 

 

 

These number pick-ups are starting to give me SERIAAS headaches!!

[shadowchaser-d]

So.....race numbers for SA's....ANYONE?

 

The web page says at the Casino. 

 

 

 

So we have to drive to the casino' date=' past the start.......pick up numbers......drive all the way back again and go start.

 

 

 

mmmmm...............

 

 

 

I think organisers have a stake in the fuel companies......starting to seriously wonder why I even bother to race?!?!?!??!

 

 

 

gggmmmmfffff

 

 

 

 

[/quote']

 

We're all in the same boat

 

These number pick-ups are starting to give me SERIAAS headaches!!

 

I have offered to have race numbers collected for those that need assistance, no one has taken me up on the offer yet still complain.  The offer still stands........

[Zoo Cookie]

And this is another reason why I'm cutting back on my race participation.

 

Eish, I miss the goodybags.

[scotty]

Missed opportunity for cycle shops on E Rand, Pta, etc , they can offer to collect numbers for cyclists and then have them collect from their shops, the cost to drive thru will be covered by cyclists browsing and buying in their shops.

[Flemish Lion]

So.....race numbers for SA's....ANYONE?

 

The web page says at the Casino.?

 

?

 

So we have to drive to the casino' date=' past the start.......pick up numbers......drive all the way back again and go start.

 

?

 

mmmmm...............

 

?

 

I think organisers have a stake in the fuel companies......starting to seriously wonder why I even bother to race?!?!?!??!

 

?

 

gggmmmmfffff

 

?

 

?

[/quote'] We're all in the same boat These number pick-ups are starting to give me SERIAAS headaches!!

 

 

?

 

I have offered to have race numbers collected for those that need assistance, no one has taken me up on the offer yet still complain.? The offer still stands........

 

 

 

Thanks shadowchaser-d, but my wife will collect my number for SAs. It's the R4S number collection that's going to be a hassle!

[Spinnekop]

Toe maar Spinnekop - for the Carnival City Macsteel National Classic the ladies will be in Centurion - hopefully this helps you for one (south) race in the year...

 

True......but CL Centurion is 20km away.  In HELSE traffic.  2 hours, 40km.  Fuel alone R40.  Time away from work.  Another couple hundred.

 

Come on Powers to be......Sell me the paper I have to print it on and get it done with!!!

[Cyclewizz]

I still don't understand why you can't collect your race number the morning of the race. Surely it can't be that complicated.

 

I've also got paper & a printer so I can also print the dam thing, it doesn't need to be on any special paper.

[Frosty]

I still don't understand why you can't collect your race number the morning of the race. Surely it can't be that complicated.

there's nothing complicated about collecting your number on race day, but how long will you be willing to stand in a queue (without b!tching) before you get your number - assuming everyone decides to collect their number on the day. For this coming weekend that will be over 3000 people - think how many people you'll need to man the registration tables.

 

The way forward must be to have a pre-paid (permanent) number for the year, i.e. your licence fee pays for this. Then a proof of payment and seeding can be emailed to you which you print and bring to give to the official at the start chute - something like they do at the Argus.

 

 

[Spinnekop]

So.....to continue here instead of bitching on the Lost City thread.

 

We are 6 months down the line and still no one is clever enough to think of a sollution.

In the mean time Thousands if not MILLIONS of R are wasted on picking up a piece of paper that can be generated at home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Spinnekop]

Groot Lem

 

<DIV>What has happened to the talk about this year's racing according to seeding and no longer in age cats?</DIV>

 

<DIV>Or was it just talk?</DIV>

 

<DIV> </DIV>

 

<DIV> </DIV>

 

 

Well.....6 months down the line and it is still only TALK. The only thing CSA has done thus far is TALK!!!

[Spinnekop]

Hello all,

 

I agree with you that the current system of driving to Cycle Lab, does not work!!!

 

I have said this before.

 

Traffic is insane and everyone is timed deprived.

 

It is not feasible to have race pick up at multiple venues on the same day. [For many logistical reasons]

 

We do always try get organizers to have at least 2 possibly 3 pick up options, at different venues.

 

 

So.....6 months later Hello Andrew.

 

Multiple venues are still a pain as I need to go grovel in front of the boss asking 2 hours away from work.

 

How about mailing my number to me?

 

 

 

 

We always try to get event organizers to have a on the morning pick up for out of town people.

 

In fact we often collect numbers for cyclists who simply cannot make it to pick up.

 

We have been discussing alternatives with event organizers and role players,

 

For a while, however as you can see from the last 7 pages of debate it is not so simple;

 

Agreed.....morning of the race not the solution.

How about mailing it to me?

 

 

 

 

What works for a small event [1000 riders possibly] simply will not work for a big event!

 

No particular order here are a few issues to be considered;

 

-Sponsors want their logos on the numbers Mail my number in PDF format with all the logos on

-Numbers cannot be printed on normal paper [paper tears/rain issues etc] Give me the paper you want it on. I'll pay for it. 20 pages per year should be less than ONE drive through to Jhb.

-Event organizers need Pre entries to plan-Coke, medals, cash flow etc. Especially big events. E.G. Hyper to Hyper would have catered for 8000 cyclists but only 2000 arrived on the day, this would be a financial disaster. So let's do pre entries. No issues there. Once I am entered, mail me my number.

-Seeding changes weekly. So this needs to be considered with a one number system. Agreed. So mail me my number.

 

-In SA, more so than the rest of the world, cyclists look for loopholes to buck the system. Printing multiple numbers for mates, not paying and riding etc. They do it now anyway. Will mailing the number make it easier....maybe....it takes out the "Scanning" as part of the process of copying. Will it stop cheats from cheating? Not. Just DQ them should the chip not be registered for the entered event?!!!

-Event organizers [mostly volunteers] cannot cope with thousands of people on race morning. Agreed as above.

 

-A lot of the solutions require very good fencing [security] for start batches or seeding groups, something like Argus, however, Costs again are a problem for event organizers.

 

Multiple scanning mats at the start costs lots of money. OK.......so then let us NOT do that. Again...If you want to cheat, you will cheat. No system will stop that!!! Just give a DQ after the ride. And then start black listing people after say 3 DQ's or something......

I am sure there are a whole host of other issues I have overlooked.

 

What works in other provinces will not necessarily work for us up, largely die to the big numbers. [Maybe a lot of the systems implemented up here in the past have worked well]

 

 

Sad to say but I think that there is not ONE race except for the Argus and the 94.7 that counts 1000+ riders per event. Not one. Number have been declining and leaders like yourself needs to realise that something needs to be done if you want us to continue racing......

 

 

 

 

Anyway I agree we need to change!

 

However if were so simple it would have already happened.

 

Be part of the solution and give us constructive ideas to help find a solution that works for everyone [Cyclists, Sponsors, officials, admin staff, volunteers]

 

Just remember you need to be able to think of the solution, not only from a cyclist�s perspective.

 

 

So....I have this idea.

Let's mail the numbers in PDF format to the riders. They print it together with a little card that needs to be handed in at the start line.....like the Argus and the 94.7.

There is NO cost to the organiser....they already have people standing at the gates to check numbers.

No paper cost to organisers. No cable ties. No safety pins. No people and logistics the week before the race for number collections....

 

The rider needs to hand in his card and print his number for every race. If I (as a rider) choose to cheat and generate my own number I will do so irrespective of the number being mailed or me having to scan it in myself. I will get DQ'ed if my chip is not registered for the even. Same as with the current system.....

 

 

What does the organiser have to loose in a scenario like this?????

 

Andrew Mclean. Just a spider on the wall watching.....

[pastapouch]

Better, if you are licenced, have a permanent race number, you are racing regularly so that may be very benficial to you guys. For us racing 2/3 times a year... Do what the runners do, just improve it.